NAMFREL attends Congressional Hearings to Support the Conduct of the 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BKSE) and the Election of Local and Youth Leaders

On August 24, NAMFREL presented its views and position in a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Electoral Reforms and People’s Participation on the proposed postponement of the 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BKSE) and the hold-over / appointment of village (Barangay) officials. Earlier, on August 8 and 14, NAMFREL attended the House of Representatives Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms on the initial deliberations and public hearing on filed legislative measures postponing the BKSE.

In both hearings, NAMFREL reiterated its position and upheld it views that “elections should be conducted with certainty and regularity. Doing otherwise undermines a democratic process instituted to ensure every citizens right to choose their leaders and make them accountable. Regularity of elections is important to establish this mandate, legitimacy and moral authority” and “does not think that the current anti-drug campaign is enough reason to postpone the BKSE and urges that it push through as scheduled this Oct. 23, 2017”.

NAMFREL believes that “regular elections is a vital exercise in a democracy. In a youth-laden society and the Barangay comprising the most basic political unit, the importance of the polls is more apparent. Postponing elections on a whim could undermine the democratic process of ensuring every citizens’ right to choose their leaders and make them accountable”.

For a copy of the full statement and position on the proposed postponement of the BKSE and the appointment of village and youth leaders, please CLICK HERE.

NAMFREL to assist COMELEC in the Verification of the CVL for the 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BKSE)

As part of preparations for the 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BKSE), NAMFREL met with the COMELEC last September 4 to discuss issues on “the Guidelines for the Verification of the Names of Voters; Certification, Sealing and Posting of election Day Computerized Voters List (EDCVL) and Posted Computerized Voters Lists (PCVL) in connection with the October 23, 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Elections.” or COMELEC Resolution No. 10188.

A Minute Resolution No. 17-0488 was also issued on the “Proposes Revised Timelines in Connection with the October 23, 2017 BKSE; and Resetting of the Schedule for the Verification of the Precinct Computerized Voters List (PCVL) / Election Day Computerized Voters List (EDCVL) and the Posting of the PCVL”.

The resolution directs the COMELEC Information and Technology Department (ITD) and the local Election Officer (EO) to provide a soft copy (pdf) of the nationwide Precinct Computerized Voters List (PCVL) free of charge to NAMFREL and other NGO / CSO partners to be distributed in the locality.

The guideline details the verification procedure and certification of the EDCVL and the PCVL using as reference the Voter Registration Sheet (VRS) database and PCVL copy provided to election monitoring and CSO groups. The procedure starts with the local EO sending a notice of schedule of the Election Registration Board (ERB) meetings to NAMFREL and others groups. The EO generates, prints and provides a copy of the EDCVL and PCVL for its verification on or before September 25. A copy of the PCVL must be posted on or before September 29 at the voting centers and local COMELEC office.

MANILA, Philippines – Voting 213-10, the House of Representatives of Monday, September 11, approved on final reading a bill postponing the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections from October 2017 to May 2018.

In August, the House, through an all-member caucus, voted to postpone the elections, which were supposed to be held in October 2017. The House also decided to have current officials serve on holdover capacity until elections are held.

MANILA - Allowing President Rodrigo Duterte to handpick replacements for barangay officials in his so-called drug list will violate the rights of sitting officials, a former election commissioner warned Tuesday.

A Senate committee report postponing barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (Youth Council) elections to October 2018 allows the President to name officers in charge.

The report released Monday night said inclusion in Duterte's "confirmed and validated" drug list was "sufficient cause" to appoint OICs.

The gun ban for the barangay and sangguniang kabataan (SK) elections begins on September 23, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

In a statement Thursday, the poll body announced: "No person shall bear, carry or transport firearms or deadly weapons outside his residence or place of business, and in all public places...even if he is licensed or authorized to carry the same, unless authorized by the Commission."

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, has upheld the integrity of the 2016 elections, which former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. questioned in his poll protest against Vice President Leni Robredo.

The PET, however, ordered the retrieval of all the ballot boxes and other election paraphernalia in three provinces that Marcos wants included in a pilot recount.

MANILA — A congressional committee will consolidate 2 bills in a move that seeks to cap advertising rates on political advertisements.

The measures seek to prevent media outlets from increasing rates of political ads beyond the average cost of regular ads. A 50%discount for TV, radio and print ads of bona fide candidates was also sought.

MANILA, Philippines — A Commission on Elections (Comelec) official was charged yesterday in connection with a P240-million “midnight deal” involving the diagnostics and repair of 80,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

In a 19-page complaint, former Biliran congressman Glenn Chong urged the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate Commissioner Christian Robert Lim for serious misconduct and the possible filing of an impeachment complaint.

An organization of lawyers has urged the public to exercise restraint from filing impeachment complaints against government officials.

Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) national president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo in a statement on Wednesday said that although impeachment is a political exercise, it must be used sparingly as it is, they said, is a "bitter medicine."

"While impeachment is by and large a political exercise, it should be used sparingly and only in the gravest of instances," said Fajardo.

MANILA, Philippines – After a heated debate on a cold and rainy afternoon, the House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 12, voted to allocate only P1,000 to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for 2018.

Acting on a motion by SAGIP Representative Rodante Marcoleta, 119 voted in favor of giving the Constitutional body a measly P1,000 for the coming year. 32 legislators, a mix of majority, minority, and opposition members, voted against it.

This does not mean, however, that the CHR is sure to get only P1,000 for the coming fiscal year. The budget will be forwarded to the Senate for another round of deliberations.

Violent politics and the disintegration of democracy in Cambodia(The Conversation, Sep 11, 2017)

Kem Sokha, the leader of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was charged with treason last week, amid allegations of conspiring with a foreign power to overthrow the government.

In all likelihood, the charges mean the imminent dissolution of the main opposition party, leaving the ruling party – the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) – the only real contender in next year’s general elections.

Allegations of computer hacking in Kenya’s August 8 election have reignited a debate around the use of digital technology in national votes, with experts wondering whether sticking to paper may be best.

The discussion is no longer theoretical in Africa where an increasing number of countries are turning to electronic voting or including a digital component in the voting process, such as the biometric voter recognition kits and electronic results transmission system deployed in Kenya.

Kenya’s Supreme Court Friday ruling nullifying last month’s presidential election has raised questions about international election monitors' assessment that the 2017 polls were free and fair.

Just days after the August 8 Kenyan presidential election, with the opposition crying foul and the death toll from clashes between police and protesters steadily mounting, international election observers pronounced their initial verdicts on the 2017 polls.